Category Archives: Authenticity

One of the best parts about the work that I do, is my schedule allows me to spend time in the classrooms of my own children. Today was one of those days. I eagerly volunteered to help with the PTO sponsored Artist in Residence program and arrived only to have my hopes of artistic splendor […]

In the last week, I been able to visit a few schools and have read a few articles highlighting projects that attempted to raise awareness about a particular social justice issue. While the teachers behind these projects designed them with good intentions, I offer that simply raising awareness isn’t enough. As you review projects of […]

Last evening, I suffered through an hour and a half of a Back to School night for my 6th grade daughter. It is bad enough that the building is not air-conditioned and yesterday hit temps in the 90s, but the presentations were what made it almost unbearable. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been there and […]

If you didn’t follow this month’s Little League World Series, you missed out on some amazing baseball and really great kids. I live in Lewisberry, PA. We are located approximately 100 miles from Williamsport, PA, the home to the Little League World Series. The close proximity makes it a given that I will pay attention […]

It has been months in the making. It involved outlines, script writing, read throughs with my producer, and a very chilly day in the studio, but it is finally finished! Take a look at the content and let me know what you think. It was a great experience, learning all of the behind the scenes […]

The school year is winding down. Standardized testing season is over (unless you are finishing up your AP exams this week). Summer is upon us. Thus, it is the perfect time to implement an authentic learning experience, a project based learning unit, or a learner led challenge. Whatever you want to call it, makes no […]

I talk a lot about the need for learners to reflect when involved in the process of, well, learning. Whether it is a more traditional assignment or a more extensive authentic learning experience, reflection is a tool for growth. A once and done approach only serves to penalize learners for, in my opinion, points in […]

This weekend, as I was trying to decide if I should get out of bed before 8:00 AM, I was sucked into a Twitter conversation about the use of the word “grit.” It was not what I was expecting on a Saturday morning, after a late night flight arrival home. Nonetheless, my friend and colleague, […]

I recently cleaned out my 5th grade daughter’s backpack to find a plethora of crumpled up worksheets. Unfortunately, I can’t say that I was shocked. In fact, earlier in the week, I reviewed my first grade daughter’s gifted homework that consisted of a packet of worksheets related to a fifth grade level book she is […]

I’ve been bothered by several educational buzzwords for a while now. In fact, it was nearly six months ago that I tweeted (@daylynn), “We need to stop talking about engagement, grit, and tinkering and start talking about empowerment, ownership, and designer.” As the new school year is fully underway, I’ve seen these words once again […]